What is the "rust" in your life?

The apostle, Paul, emphasises that the whole man must be kept clean - not only from the sins that defile the physical body, but also from those that involve the inner attitudes and dispositions of the human spirit. Writing to the early disciples of Jesus in Corinth - infamous, in its time, as a hotbed of immorality and licentiousness - he states: "... let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, ..." (II Cor 7:1). Those who disregard these guidelines of grace, hinder the power and plan of Father God for their lives.

John Speed-Andrews was an English evangelist in the second half of the 19th century. Once, when he was touring a large manufacturing plant, he noticed a man using a high-intensity torch to work on huge slabs of steel. Using a pantograph he traced the pattern on a blueprint, that was attached to a table, and this enlarged the design as it was burned into the metal. There were times, however, when the flame made no impression. When this happened, the operator would apply a chemical substance to the resisting patch and, immediately, the cutting was able to be resumed.

The worker explained to the visitor that, although the torch was capable of cutting through clean steel, up to a thickness of eight inches (20 cms), if it encountered even the slightest film of rust on the surface, the flame would not penetrate. The chemical cleaned the patch of the rust, so that the cutting could continue.

Mr Speed-Andrews wrote: "It struck me, forcefully, that this is a picture of the Christian. The Holy Spirit is seeking to produce in us, God's perfect design. If the life is unblemished, He is able to continue His efforts but, if we are carnal or backslidden, His work of shaping us is hindered until the area in question has been thoroughly cleansed."

If we want the joy, and the victory, that comes from having our lives cut to God's pattern, then we need to avoid the hindering "rust" that accompanies "... every defilement of body and spirit, ..." Each of us knows what that area is in our individual life. We need to bring that area (those areas?!) under the cleansing blood of the Lamb - even God the Son: the Lord Jesus Whose entry into this world we will shortly be celebrating (even if His birth did not take place on Dec.25th!). May we do so - for our own good, and that Glory might be given to Him.